Tag: Heaven&Hell

#24 The Stork

| November 24, 2010 | 2 Comments

While his “fraternal twin,” Death, gets all the attention, mortals don’t even think about Life. But if Death takes your soul to its final destination, then what delivered it the mortal plane in the first place? The answer is The Stork.

First of all, his name isn’t really The Stork (and technically he’s not a “he”). That’s just the nickname that his ethereal buddies gave him. You know, based on the human story of the stork who delivers babies? He really, really hates it. So of course, they keep calling him that. Anyway, his job is to deliver souls from the planes of reincarnation or — in the case of new ones — the Well of Souls to their mortal bodies.

It’s a simple job. Get it, deliver it, on to the next one.

Maybe he’ll incarnate between gigs to grab a beer on Earth, or maybe he’ll go find some quiet corner of the ethereal realms to chill. He doesn’t want to be bothered, so leave him alone. And don’t get him started on the war between God and the Devil. It’s nonsense; leave him out! The only being he seems to get along with is his brother and even that depends on his mood.

But deep down, though he’ll never admit it, The Stork really loves his job and he especially thinks humans are kind of cool with their beer and video games and such. If it means breaking his vow of neutrality in the big conflict to help them out, he’ll do it. Just don’t expect him to tell you it’s because he likes you.

Copyright © 2010, Rolando Garcia.
You can find me on: Follow roshow on Twitter and/or

#23 DEATH

| November 24, 2010 | 2 Comments

Despite the bum wrap he gets from those still shuffling about in their mortal coil, Death is actually one of the most beloved beings amongst ethereals. He’s charming and charismatic, the guy everyone wants at their parties and events. Whether he’s hanging out in Heaven, Hell or the places in between, he’s always stopped by some local acquaintance who’s happy to see him and wants to catch up. If there were elections for ethereal president, he would win in a landslide. And it wouldn’t even make God jealous because, damn, Death is such a great guy (if God were capable of such a nasty thing as jealousy, that is).

Of all the forms he could take, he most often opts for that of a young Robert Redford. Everyone kept suggesting it after the Twilight Zone episode “Nothing in the Dark” starring the young actor. Eventually, Death acquiesced and found the form fit him quite nicely. It also works much better than the whole “scary skeleton with a scythe” look when greeting the newly dead.

Considering his unique job — delivering souls from the mortal plane to their final destination — he along with his brother, The Stork (more on him a little later today), are the only two ethereal beings barred from taking sides in the eternally escalating hostilities between Heaven and Hell. Not that either tend to care about that restriction when they don’t want to. After all, the Devil is a major asshole and even someone as awesome as Death doesn’t like assholes.

Copyright © 2010, Rolando Garcia.
You can find me on: Follow roshow on Twitter and/or

#22 Emmett Clayton

| November 23, 2010 | 2 Comments
Following his service in the Civil War, Emmett Clayton took his wife and baby son out West. On the long trip, his wife fell ill and died leaving him and young John alone. For the first few years it was difficult but not fruitless. Emmett came to be known as one of the most effective and feared lawmen in the new frontier.

But (there’s always a but in these stories, isn’t there?) even he was no match for three vicious killers. Emmett followed them into the desert and the shootout that ensued was brutal. Oh, he managed to kill all three, since even a fatal shot was not enough to stop Emmett from finishing his job.

As he lay bleeding out in the desert sun, all he could think about was John. Still a young boy, he would soon be an orphan, left to fend for himself. Then Emmett heard a voice. He looked up and saw a man standing over him. The man offered him a simple deal: Emmett’s wounds would be healed and he would be granted a second shot at life to finish raising his son. In exchange, his soul would be marked for eternal service to the Devil.

Emmett agreed and promptly passed out.

When Emmett woke up, the only evidence of the fatal gunshot were the holes in his clothes and a small scar. His first instinct was to thank God… and then he remembered that was not who he had made the deal with. He threw the corpses of  the three villains on his horse and rode back into town.

What Emmett found back home, though, was more horrifying than anything he had just been a part of. While he was out hunting down the three men, their fourth partner had come into town. Enraged to hear that his friends had been driven out by the sheriff, he went on a horrific shooting spree. The townsfolk were able to subdue him but not before he had killed four people. One of them was Emmett’s son.

Conned by the Devil and without a chance for redemption, Emmett prepared to kill himself. Then he stopped himself. No, Emmett would not give the Devil his due any sooner than he had to. In fact, he vowed to spend the rest of his days hunting down the Devil’s minions on Earth. He would do what little he could to help humanity and screw Satan before his mortal death.

Before setting out on his self appointed mission, Emmett carved a cross into the ivory handle of his six shooter and had it blessed by the town priest. Being a marked soul, he would never be able to hold the gun without the cross burning his hand. The pain would be a constant reminder that no matter what good he did, Emmett was still damned.

[I’m not an artist, just a writer, but I’m having way too much fun drawing again. It’s been way too long! I feel like a kid again in the best way. Enjoy!]

Copyright © 2010, Rolando Garcia.
You can find me on: Follow roshow on Twitter and/or